https://lleachie.wordpress.com/

 https://lleachie.wordpress.com/

That's my new blog. I'd love to see you there.

NEW ADDRESS

 This is just to remind people that my blog is now located at lleachie.wordpress.com. Please visit me there!

IMPORTANT NOTICE

 I will be moving this blog to WordPress starting today. I have been having trouble with Blogger, so I feel the need to move the blog. The new site will be http://lleachie.wordpress.com

I am hoping my readers can make the jump.

Thank you.

Learning optimism

Speaking of anticipating good things happening , I've noticed that pessimists often call themselves "realists", yet I haven't heard optimists say the same thing. It's almost as if, again, we expect bad things to happen and not good.

I'm trying to focus on good things happening -- the good deeds of humans, the unexpected good thing, achievements and accomplishments, and so on. The things that spark gratitude and, thus, happiness. 

Being an optimist is not the same as descending into toxic positivity. I don't chirp "Look on the bright side!" to people who are going through tough times; I listen to them. I don't ignore my own feelings of hurt. I don't choose to ignore the bad things in the world. 

I hope. That is the core of optimism -- hoping for good things in the future. 

It's hard sometimes. I worry that I am enjoying my white privilege. I deal with a pessimistic inner voice that tells me I'm just going to get hurt. I wonder if I'm fooling myself. 

However, I think I'm doing the right thing. Pessimism makes us ill and makes us unhappy with life. I hope to stick with optimism because it seems healthier.

Your life could change in an instant -- preparedness

"Your life could change in an instant."

People always think of the worst when they say this -- a dire diagnosis, a car wreck, murder.

It also means, however, that our lives could change for the better in an instant -- a windfall of money, a job offer, a baby in the family. Is it a sign of pervasive pessimism that we can only think of the negative implications of the phrase? 

Yes, I think people are born pessimists. I think it's a survival mechanism, because without the belief that bad things can happen unexpectedly, we won't prepare for them. Disaster preparedness (knowing where the fire exits are, packing a "bugout bag" in case of evacuation, having a plan for tornadoes) is a good example of preparing for the unexpected. Insurance is another example. Without the belief that one's life could change for the worst, would people invest the time and money to mitigate the unexpected calamity.

But people have to prepare for good things as well, although we don't think about it. If one wins the big lottery, one must have in place plans like investment, legal issues, and dealing with family members. An unexpected baby requires a reallocation of money. One can't place the plans unless the good thing actually happens, but one can set in the first steps -- finding a good lawyer and accountant, allowing for savings to mitigate the financial effects of a baby, agreeing to rules about how to deal with the surprise discovery.

The key is to anticipate possible events, both good and bad, and set things in place. There's always an event that will surprise people, but setting in place the acknowledgment that surprises need plans will help deal with the unexpected -- even the good unexpected.

Another pitch opportunity

 I found out about #SFFpit on Twitter with two days to spare. #SFFpit is a pitching opportunity on Twitter for people who write science fiction and fantasy (hence SFF).  "Pitching" refers to distilling one's novel into three lines or less -- shorter for an "elevator pitch", longer for a pitch on Twitter. 

This is the wonderful thing about Twitter -- first, that I can get my work exposed to many agents on the Internet without being in the same room; second, that I can find out about it without having to remember to go to the website to check when a pitch exercise is happening. (Note: always go to the pitch contest's website to find out their latest rules for pitching.)

I set up my pitches using a web app called TweetDeck, which is free and allows you to put in a series of pitches to be timed for posting throughout the day. So when I set up pitches, I put them into TweetDeck so I don't have to go back and remember to post them.

So this is another opportunity to hope. I take all the opportunities to hope that I can, and someday I may have an agent!

National X Day

 Today is National Dark Chocolate Day. Oh no! I have no dark chocolate in the house! I must go out and buy some!

According to this article, all those "National X days" are created by industries in order for us to buy more. Which doesn't explain National Cat Day because there isn't a big rush to buy purebred cats on that day. (I am convinced that National Cat Day (October 29) was invented by cats to get more treats, though.) 

But do people actually go out and buy ice cream on National Ice Cream Day (July 18), or pickles on National Pickle Day (November 14), or avocados on National Avocado Day (July 31)? According to the above article, they do. 

(Right now, my cats are trying to convince me that National Cat Day is every day, and that International Cat Day (August 8) is also every day and they get double treats).

Every morning, my husband announces the National Day of the day, which is how I know that today is National Dark Chocolate Day (today). I don't really care if I'm being sold to; I just have fun hearing how ludicrous some of the candidates can be. 

I'm not sure what behavior the keepers of the National Day Calendar are trying to support with National Grab Some Nuts Day (August 3), however.